DND to summon whistle-blowers for probe on AFP fund scam

UPDATED 3:30 p.m. - The special investigating committee created by the Department of National Defense (DND) will summon whistle-blowers as it begins its probe on alleged military fund scams in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). On Friday, the first day of its investigation, probe committee vice-chairman Defense Assistant Secretary Fernando Manalo suggested that the panel should invite to testify the whistle-blowers who spoke about pay-offs and corruption in the military. "We should subpoena [retired] Col George Rabusa and Heidi Mendoza," said Manalo. Rabusa was a former military budget officer who earlier claimed to have been the "bagman" of military generals and civilian officials who allegedly received pay-offs in the past. Mendoza, meanwhile, was a former government auditor who investigated the case of retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, who faced a P300-million plunder case. Defense Secretary Voltair Gazmin last week created the body to probe among others Garcia's case and the claims that former military chief of staff Angelo Reyes received at least P50 million in "pabaon" (send-off money) before leaving the service. "There will be little sleep for the committee. This is a thorough investigation," said committee chairman Atty. Patrick Velez. He said his committee has 30 days to conduct their investigation. Aside from Reyes, other military officials planned to be summoned to the DND probe include former military chiefs Roy Cimatu and Diomedio Villanueva, who also allegedly received "pabaons." The panel also plans on inviting Lt. Col. Antonio Ramon "Sonny" Lim, a former aide of Reyes who corroborated corruption claims made by Rabusa. "We should also be summoning the accountant, Atty. Edith Santos," Manalo added. "In so far as this investigation is concerned, we are positive we can get the information needed in the structure of the military and the defense," he said. He said other agencies like the Commission on Audit have already signified their willingness to cooperate in the probe. At the end of the DND investigation, the panel would recommend possible administrative and criminal charges, as well as disciplinary actions, Velez said. "This investigation is not a panacea for everything... but this would make the AFP and the DND a better servant of the people," he said. Both Mendoza and Rabusa earlier claimed in separate inquiries that the military had diverted million of dollars that was part of a grant from the United Nations. Rabusa had also said while he was still serving as budget officer of the AFP from 2000 to 2002, he was the one in charge to keep what he called a "Provisions for Command-directed Activities (PCDA)" slush fund - where the supposed "pabaons" were sourced. Maj. Gen. Pedro Soria, chief of the military's Resources Management Office who served as resource speaker on Friday's inquiry, told the committee that his office has records of the AFP budget from 1999 up to the present. However, he admitted they could not check if such a PCDA fund was indeed used by ranking officials for their personal use prior to 2005. Soria said their records on UN grants only go as far as 2005, when his office was created in light of the controversy caused by Garcia's plunder case that year. "Gusto natin malaman kung magkano talaga ang naibigay ng UN para malaman natin hindi lamang kung magkano ang allegedly nagamit for the 'pay-offs' kundi pati na rin magkano sana ang nagamit sana ng AFP for its modernization sana," Veles told GMANews.TV in a separate interview. – VVP, GMANews.TV